Show "Bicycle"

Well...

#1 True up those wheels if they aren't already there. You need a FLAT braking surface, no wobble.
#2 Adjust the little set screws on the v-brake arms to get the pads just about a millimeter off the brake surface.
#3 Loosen the screw on the brake arm and let the cable loose.
#4 Screw the brake lever adjuster barrel nuts in ALMOST all the way.
#5 Pull the cable tight at the brake arms, tighten it.
#6 Make sure the arms are centered on the rim, using those little screws again.

And that oughta be it. Now that the lever adjuster barrel nuts are mostly in, you can chase it out as the cable slackens, and the pads wear.
 
Well...

#1 True up those wheels if they aren't already there. You need a FLAT braking surface, no wobble.
#2 Adjust the little set screws on the v-brake arms to get the pads just about a millimeter off the brake surface.
#3 Loosen the screw on the brake arm and let the cable loose.
#4 Screw the brake lever adjuster barrel nuts in ALMOST all the way.
#5 Pull the cable tight at the brake arms, tighten it.
#6 Make sure the arms are centered on the rim, using those little screws again.

And that oughta be it. Now that the lever adjuster barrel nuts are mostly in, you can chase it out as the cable slackens, and the pads wear.
Much obliged.
 
I've decided to roll with two single speeds (for now). One is dedicated for road and street, the other is now my dedicated uphill and trail bike. This bike I've set with a 34:16t gear, but I might switch to 34:17t down the road.

Today I went biking next to Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL), for some nice trail riding! This trail had some major technical areas, which required either a dedicated MTB to pass or just carrying your bike through the creek areas. At the end is a really nice waterfall. My bike held up well and the chromoly frame absorbed the bumps and rocks like a champ! Plus being on a single speed I was able to gauge my cadence and when I saw an uphill, I mashed the pedals to gain momentum. Also I was the only gravel bike there and these two old retired mountain bikers commented they were amazed I was riding a road bike through the trail! :D

JPL in the background:
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Several creek crossings:
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Nice and wooded:
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The waterfall at the end:
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How I spent much of my day. 31.4 miles (50+km). It was a chilly 29F when I started, and 73F when I finished. Kind of hard to dress for that. I was shedding layers and stuffing them in my backpack, which made it bulky and cumbersome. On the way back, my legs turned to noodles at about 10 miles from the car, and it was like they said "We're done. So how are we getting back to the car now?". I've ridden 30 miles on that trail, but it was a different bike and a different time of year. I think the freeze-thaw-freeze cycle had really messed with the crushed stone bed. It was like pedaling through quicksand at times.

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Getting warm! Still 14+ miles to the car.
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Not my bike but couldn't resist the photo opportunity I saw. This was at the summit of High Vinnalls in the Mortimer Forest, just outside of Ludlow, Shropshire on 30th Dec 2020, pre Lockdown 2.0 as we call it here in the UK and lucky enough to be high enough to have had a good sprinkling of snow.
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COVID bike #3 is complete. In this photo, the chain was way too slack, even with the chain tensioner, but removing a link made the chain too short. What to do? Wait until tomorrow and drive to the LBS to pick up some half-links to adjust the chain length, or . . . change the rear cog. I figured changing from an 18T to 20T cog would take up some chain slack, but would it be too much? Only one way to find out.

A couple of hours later, I'm riding the thing in the dark in front of my house. The complete silence of a well tuned SS is beautiful. I really liked the feel of the 700x38 tires. We'll see how I'm thinking after I've put some miles out on the trail. Final gear ratio is 36:20, and just over 49 gear inches. It felt good on the slight inclines we have directly in front of my house. I don't plan on doing any hill climbing, just rail trail riding.

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COVID bike #3 is complete. In this photo, the chain was way too slack, even with the chain tensioner, but removing a link made the chain too short. What to do? Wait until tomorrow and drive to the LBS to pick up some half-links to adjust the chain length, or . . . change the rear cog. I figured changing from an 18T to 20T cog would take up some chain slack, but would it be too much? Only one way to find out.

A couple of hours later, I'm riding the thing in the dark in front of my house. The complete silence of a well tuned SS is beautiful. I really liked the feel of the 700x38 tires. We'll see how I'm thinking after I've put some miles out on the trail. Final gear ratio is 36:20, and just over 49 gear inches. It felt good on the slight inclines we have directly in front of my house. I don't plan on doing any hill climbing, just rail trail riding.

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The new bike looks great! Glad to hear you were able to workout your gear ratio. Looking forward to more photos with the single speed!
 
I just came back from a 30 minute spin around our neighborhood. I love how quiet the SS setup is. I used the cheapest components I could find on my first SS bike a few years ago, and it was noisy. The bike feels great on pavement, with very little tire noise. We're supposed to have rain the next few days, but I'm eager to get it out on our state's premier rail trail, which is a couple of hours from our house. A few interesting stats:

The SS Crossroads, with its Cro-Mo frame and 700x38 tires, weighs 27.4 pounds. My previous build, Bid Red, weighs 31.4 pounds with its carbon steel frame, 27.5 x 2.1 tires, and 9 speed setup. My Trek Verve 3, with Trek's "Alpha Gold Aluminum" frame, 700x50 tires, and generic 9 speed Shimano gear, weighs 27.0 pounds. The Crossroads has a rear cargo rack, so if I removed that, it would actually weigh less than the aluminum Trek. I know various components come into play with regard to bike weight, but I'm still somewhat amazed how light the new Crossroads is.
 
I just came across a used 29 in. Reynolds steel mountain bike hardtail and rigid fork with Shimano Deore components and I'm also looking at an aluminum frame gravel bike with Shimano GRX 400 components. I somewhat like the idea of a rigid mountain bike and I could also mount WTB 29 in. slicks for road use. I'm wondering if going with a MTB and converting it to light road and trail riding might be a good idea versus a dedicated gravel bike? Any opinions if going that route? Thanks!
 
I just came across a used 29 in. Reynolds steel mountain bike hardtail and rigid fork with Shimano Deore components and I'm also looking at an aluminum frame gravel bike with Shimano GRX 400 components. I somewhat like the idea of a rigid mountain bike and I could also mount WTB 29 in. slicks for road use. I'm wondering if going with a MTB and converting it to light road and trail riding might be a good idea versus a dedicated gravel bike? Any opinions if going that route? Thanks!
As to "which one to go with," depends as always on what you wanna do with it most. Either one can dip a toe in the other's home turf, but will do a better job on ITS home turf. A rigid high-quality steel MTB is a fun knock-around bike for sure, but it won't egg you on to go faster. Maybe that's good? The gravel bike is easier to put fenders on and WILL egg you on to go faster, but maybe you don't want to?

For me, if the gravel bike has discs (I think it does, if it has GRX400) then that would probably sway me.
 
As to "which one to go with," depends as always on what you wanna do with it most. Either one can dip a toe in the other's home turf, but will do a better job on ITS home turf. A rigid high-quality steel MTB is a fun knock-around bike for sure, but it won't egg you on to go faster. Maybe that's good? The gravel bike is easier to put fenders on and WILL egg you on to go faster, but maybe you don't want to?

For me, if the gravel bike has discs (I think it does, if it has GRX400) then that would probably sway me.
Both bikes are used, but the aluminum gravel frame has an almost complete GRX 400 groupset, except for the front crank which is an FSA tempo geared to 30/46t. Runs Shimano shifters, derailleurs and hydraulic brakes. The price difference between the two is $650 w/tax+shipping and $800 w/tax+shipping (makes miss Oregon's no sales tax). If I get a geared bike, I'll probably sell one of my single speed bikes, to free up cash and plus my wife will kill me since all my bikes sit in my office/man-cave! I think I'll be capped at a two bike limit! Honestly I just enjoy biking. I'll ride anything!

BTW - What do you think of these Poseidon bikes? They seem to review well on Youtube, unless they're paid influencers! :roflmao:
 
Same bike, but set-up totally different! Black bike is set with long 120mm stem to get more aero, touring tires and 46:16t gearing optimized for riding LA's urban streets. Purple bike is set with a slammed/short 45mm MTB stem for more twitch and riding the hoods, WTB Riddler gravel tires and 34:16t gearing optimized for LA's trail riding and uphill mashing.

Though if I get a geared bike, one of them will have to go? 🤔

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BTW - What do you think of these Poseidon bikes? They seem to review well on Youtube, unless they're paid influencers! :roflmao:
They hit an amazing pricepoint. They do it by specifying Microshift and Tektro, by using budget wheels, as cheap as you can go, basically, without being garbage. I SUSPECT they're fine, but that they're also going to be frustrating in some ways. Microshift does the job, usually, but seems to always have frustrating kinks not worked out (no barrel adjusters on the rear derailleur to take up slack is it stretches?!). Mechanical tektro discs kinda suck. I donno. They look the business. They're cheap. I just don't know enough to know if they cut a critical corner, or if they magically didn't.
 
A bit of input here. I have a Microshift dual lever shifter and 9sp derailleur on Big Red. I'll admit I am not a bike mechanic, but I've fiddled with the adjustments plenty, and the indexing stinks. I'm swapping the dual lever shifter for a friction thumb shifter.

As for mechanical disc brakes . . . meh. They work fine for easy bike path or park riding, but when I tried using them on a long, steep fire road that was a shorter version of Repack, they didn't do a very good job of keeping my speed from getting faster than I'd prefer. I'll be replacing at least the front brakes with hydraulics.
 
A bit of input here. I have a Microshift dual lever shifter and 9sp derailleur on Big Red. I'll admit I am not a bike mechanic, but I've fiddled with the adjustments plenty, and the indexing stinks. I'm swapping the dual lever shifter for a friction thumb shifter.

As for mechanical disc brakes . . . meh. They work fine for easy bike path or park riding, but when I tried using them on a long, steep fire road that was a shorter version of Repack, they didn't do a very good job of keeping my speed from getting faster than I'd prefer. I'll be replacing at least the front brakes with hydraulics.
I'm not the biggest fan of mechanical disc brakes. Both my bikes use them and I've gotten pretty good at adjusting them, but they take a lot finessing whenever I take off the wheels, especially in the rear. Also I noticed when trail riding, small bumps and grit can easily cause rubbing.

Hmm, I think I might be leaning towards the Shimano GRX equipped bike I've been looking at. The only issue is the aluminum frame is pretty basic, but the components are quite good. On another bike forum, someone did mention a Giant Revolt, but that definitely pushes the price cap higher!
 
I'm not the biggest fan of mechanical disc brakes. Both my bikes use them and I've gotten pretty good at adjusting them, but they take a lot finessing whenever I take off the wheels, especially in the rear. Also I noticed when trail riding, small bumps and grit can easily cause rubbing.

Hmm, I think I might be leaning towards the Shimano GRX equipped bike I've been looking at. The only issue is the aluminum frame is pretty basic, but the components are quite good. On another bike forum, someone did mention a Giant Revolt, but that definitely pushes the price cap higher!
There's always a Kona Sutra. :D KONA BIKES | DROP BAR / GRAVEL | SUTRA | Sutra
 
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